Return of Floyd’s Christmas Parade Draws Crowds
-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on December 2, 2021.
A full gallery of photos can be seen on the newspaper’s online site HERE.
Sunday’s Topsy Turvey Christmas Parade down Locust and Main streets featured decorated holiday-themed floats and vehicles, clowns, seasonal music performed by the FCHS band, costumed marchers that included dogs and ponies and more.
Sponsored by the Floyd County Merchants and Businessmen’s Association, the annual event began with VFW marchers and ended with Santa on a sleigh calling out Christmas greetings to the crowd, much to the delight of the children in attendance.
Spectators commented on the sizeable increase of participants for this 2021 annual event following a year off due to the pandemic.
“This looked like one of the largest Floyd parades that I have helped with, and that has been for at least 35 years,” reported Judy Hylton, who checked in participants at the Mabry Funeral Home parking lot, where the parade was launched from.
She said she had over 50 parade entries on the list that was put together by fellow Merchant and Business Association member Susan Leonard, but that other participants showed up to march at the start of the parade.
She said that friends and family, as well as the county Fire Department, help the Association’s Board of Directors with the parade planning and added that the non-profit organization, which also sponsors the July 4th fireworks celebration, is looking for new membership.
John McEnhill, retiring executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and recipient of the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce 2021 Business Leader of the Year Award, was this year’s honored grand marshal.
A long line of fire engines and trucks sounding horns and sirens and flashing lights was led by six-year- Christopher Cox who was riding a battery-operated child’s fire truck.
Cox, whose father and grandfather are firemen, was accompanied by his mother and grandmother. A sign on his fire truck read “We Start Them Early.”
Floyd County High School’s Marching Band Color Guard twirled candy cane batons, while the Marching Band paused enroute to perform. __________Colleen Redman / Our World Tuesday
